Photo: Hurtigruten Ships in Trana, Norway© Tommy Simonsen
Travelling with Hurtigruten is not a cruise that skims the surface. It is Norway’s Original Voyage that locals have trusted for generations. Since 1893, Hurtigruten’s ships have carried people, mail, and goods to small communities scattered along the shoreline. Step aboard the Hurtigruten and you become part of that rhythm of daily life that has shaped Norway for generations.
ORIGINAL AND SIGNATURE VOYAGES ON NORWAY’S COAST
Hurtigruten’s Original Coastal Express links 34 ports that rely on the ships every day, year-round. Guests are invited into this living story, meeting the people who keep the coast running and discovering a Norway that most travellers never see.
You can sail the full 11- or 12-day roundtrip between Bergen and Kirkenes, or choose a shorter northbound or southbound journey.
Alongside this historic route, Hurtigruten also offers Signature Voyages that provide a premium experience with all-inclusive food and drink, sailing either to the North Cape in winter or to the remote outpost of Svalbard in summer. With longer stays in port, an enhanced expedition team, and award-winning cuisine with drinks included, these journeys feel like an immersive coastal retreat. Whether you choose an Original Voyage or a Signature Voyage, you still follow Norway’s remarkable coastline, experience life in coastal communities, and discover the coast’s true character.
NORWAY’S COASTAL KITCHEN: FROM FJORD TO FORK
A Hurtigruten voyage feeds the senses as much as the spirit. Through the award-winning Norway’s Coastal Kitchen, guests taste the landscape they are sailing through. The culinary program sources ingredients from more than 70 farms, fisheries, bakeries, cheesemakers, and brewers along the route, turning each meal into a reflection of the region outside your window.
Menus shift with the seasons and the latitude, so what is on your plate always reflects where you are along the coast. You might enjoy fresh cod, reindeer, Arctic char, local goat cheese, or bright cloudberries from the north, while floor-to-ceiling windows turn the changing landscape into part of the meal.
Special collaborations with culinary ambassadors such as Astrid Nässlander, Halvar Ellingsen, and the newest culinary ambassador, Sámi chef Máret Rávdná Buljo, deepen the connection between what is on the plate and the places along the coast. Together with
Hurtigruten’s in-house culinary team, they create menus that respect traditional Norwegian recipes while introducing fresh ideas and flavours inspired by the modern coast.
Even the sparkling wine has a story. Havets Bobler, or Bubbles from the Sea, is a limited-edition sparkling wine that spends 12 months maturing more than 100 feet beneath the Arctic Sea, at cold, steady temperatures and under constant darkness, developing a softer, finer bubble and a taste shaped by the sea.
TRAVEL THAT GIVES BACK
On Norway’s coast, sustainability is not a slogan; it is Hurtigruten’s license to operate. The company has been investing in hybrid technology, cleaner fuels, and circular food systems that minimize waste. Several ships now operate with battery-hybrid power and connect to shore electricity in port, significantly reducing emissions.
These voyages also support the coastal communities that make them possible. Guest spending contributes to local economies and helps sustain jobs along the route.
On board, a farm-to-fleet-to-farm initiative transforms food scraps into compost at Stamsund in the Lofoten Islands. Local farmers use this nutrient-rich soil to grow fresh herbs and vegetables that return to the ships’ kitchens, closing the loop and keeping sustainability tangible for guests.
In November 2025, MS Richard With completed Hurtigruten’s first climate-neutral voyage, sailing on certified advanced biofuel made from recycled cooking oil and waste fats. The success of that journey showed that meaningful emission cuts are possible now, not someday in the future.
SEA ZERO: CHARTING THE FUTURE OF CLEAN TRAVEL
Building on this momentum, Hurtigruten’s Sea Zero project aims to launch one of the world’s first zero-emission passenger ships on the Norwegian coast by 2030. Developed with research partner SINTEF and Norway’s leading maritime designers, the concept explores large capacity batteries, wind-assisted sails, and highly efficient hull design to reduce energy use by around half.
Sea Zero is a continuation of Hurtigruten’s original promise to sail responsibly, serve the coast faithfully, and ensure that future generations can experience this extraordinary landscape. By travelling with Hurtigruten along the Norwegian coast, guests take part in that vision and help shape the next chapter of sustainable exploration.
DESIGNED FOR DISCOVERY
Each Hurtigruten ship carries fewer than 500 guests, creating an atmosphere that feels both social and serene. Panoramic lounges, open decks, and quiet corners that look straight onto the horizon invite you to slow down and take in the shifting scenery.
On board, Coastal Experience Teams share stories and insights about the landscapes and communities you pass, turning the coastline into a living classroom. One evening, you might learn about the Northern Lights from the world’s only Chief Aurora Chaser. Another, you might hear Viking history brought to life by people whose families have always called this coastline home.
CHASING THE LIGHT
No journey along Norway’s coast is complete without the spectacle of the Northern Lights. From late autumn through early spring, the aurora often ignites the sky in waves of green and violet above the ships. Hurtigruten’s Northern Lights Promise ensures that guests on select Original Coastal Express voyages of 11 days or longer will see this phenomenon or receive another sailing free of charge.
For those keen to go even deeper, astronomy-themed departures bring on board experts such as Chief Aurora Chaser Tom Kerss and other astronomers. They lead engaging presentations and real-time viewing sessions timed to solar activity, so guests do not just see the aurora. They understand it and feel its wonder more intensely.
MOMENTS THAT STAY WITH YOU
Every day on the coast brings something unscripted. You might round a headland to find a whale’s fin breaching in the stillness of the fjord, or watch the midnight sun hover over a line of peaks. A sea eagle over a deep blue fjord, a fishing boat returning at dawn, a village buried in fresh snow. These are the moments that define a Hurtigruten voyage.
Guests often say the ship feels like home by the second evening. You return from each small adventure with wind-flushed cheeks and a story ready for the dinner table. In that rhythm, between the sea, the shore, and the shared meal, you find the real meaning of travel.
SAIL BEYOND THE ORDINARY
After more than 130 years, Hurtigruten’s Original Coastal Express remains at the heart of Norway’s coast, complemented by a collection of Signature Voyages that put specific seasons and regions in the spotlight. When you choose to travel with Hurtigruten, you support local producers, preserve a national heritage, and experience Norway as it truly is: raw, beautiful, and alive.
Ready to discover the heart of Norway? Explore departures on the Original Coastal Express and Signature Voyages, choose your cabin with a view, and begin your journey at hurtigruten.com
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Hurtigruten is one of the world’s great journeys, sailing and caring for the Norwegian coast since 1893. We are proud to be a national icon for generations of Norwegians and to have a special place in the hearts of our guests from around the world.